


Vena amoris (vein of love)

by hanjiseyepatch



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Character's Name Spelled as Farlan, Character's Name Spelled as Hanji, Childhood Memories, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Other, Red String of Fate, Romance, Scars, Shingeki no Kyojin Chapter 126: Pride, Soulmates, levihan - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:21:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26581303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hanjiseyepatch/pseuds/hanjiseyepatch
Summary: "They say two people are soulmates and they are connected by a visibile red string of fate that only them can see and it can never be broken no matter what happens."aka red string of fate but it's seen as scars
Relationships: Levi & Hange Zoë, Levi/Hange Zoë
Comments: 8
Kudos: 92





	Vena amoris (vein of love)

_Vena amoris_

_\- A latin phrase which means vein of love. It runs from the left ring finger to the heart_

* * *

"Mom, why does the princess have a string wrapped on her finger?"a little bespectacled brunette curiously asked and pointed at a picture in the book that she's reading. Her mother who had just finished washing the dishes sat beside her on the couch and looked closely. A smile was etched on the mother's pale face as she neatly ties her daughter's hair into a ponytail. 

"That, my dear, is a princess searching for the end of the red string," the mother explained, finishing the ponytail and brushing the ends of the child's strands. A confused pair of big brown eyes looks at her.

"Red...string?" Her mother nodded and continued to explain. 

"They say two people are soulmates and they are connected by a visible red string of fate that only them can see and it can never be broken no matter what happens," the child gasped upon hearing the explanation. 

"Does that mean I have one too? How will I know who's on the other end of the string?" the child asked excitedly while her mother giggles softly seeing the young one smile. Her child's innocence and happiness are the only things that make her smile anymore. 

"Once you grow up, but only time will tell. You'll meet them someday and you two will live happily ever after," the mother answered before closing the cheap old book that she randomly picked and bought in the market as requested by her child. She made a mental note to check the contents of the book next time since topics like this are for older children. When she looked back at her, she was met by a question that made her drop her fragile smile.

"Does that mean you and father are attached by the red string of fate too?" The pale woman suddenly became teary-eyed but she managed to hide it and nodded.

"Of course, sweetie," she lied while tucking a loose strand of the child's brown hair behind her ear. 

"W-We should get some sleep. Maybe tomorrow your father will come home to surprise you," the mother added and urged her innocent child to go to bed. 

* * *

"Hanji? Hanji!" 

"Oi, shitty four eyes." That's when Hanji snapped back to reality as Erwin and Levi called her attention.

"Are you okay? You were on a daze," asked Erwin who looked at her with genuine concern.

"Ah yeah Erwin! Sorry I just got distracted there for a little bit. What were we discussing?" Hanji asked, sitting straight on her chair and flipping through the pages of the report work.

"It's your turn to discuss the result of your experiment on that brat," Levi who sat beside her replied. 

"Oh, right! Eren's progress report," Hanji cleared her throat before proceeding with her discussion. Levi's gaze followed her suspiciously. 

* * *

Once the meeting was over, Hanji sighed and went on her way to her laboratory. She wonders why all of a sudden, she remembers that childhood memory that she never wanted to remember because she blames herself for asking such a stupid question. It's probably her guilt, visiting her again; making her regret that maybe if she didn't ask her mother about her father, her mother wouldn't have chosen to drink poison to end her misery that very night. She should have known at such a young age that her father never cared for them; that he abandoned them to starve to death. 

After that terrible incident, she never read nor believed in any fairytales and focused her curiosity on relevant things which led her to the path of becoming part of the Survey Corps and diving deep into titan research. 

Hanji hated remembering her childhood memories so she always distracted herself with books, various research or with the piles of written reports that needed to be finished as soon as possible.

* * *

Later that night, Hanji was finishing her progress report on Eren's titan hardening ability when she heard a soft knock. The door to the lab is usually unlocked so she waited a few seconds for the person to open it .

"Levi, what brings you here?" she curiously looks at the grumpy man who just went inside.

"Tch. How can you stay at such a messy place," Levi commented as he threw a piece of cloth at her and she caught it effortlessly. Hanji can tell how tempted he is to clean up the laboratory. 

"This is my handkerchief. I thought I lost it," Hanji stated and placed it above the stack of papers. 

"I was cleaning the room after the meeting and noticed you dropped it while you were in a hurry to get out of there," Levi answered and folded his arms in front of his chest. 

"O-Oh thanks," Hanji smiled while Levi sighed and sat on one of the empty chairs near Hanji. She can tell that his insomnia is worsening. He's usually her visitor whenever she's working at the lab during late hours and somehow they have grown fond of keeping each other company despite their differing personalities.

"Since you're here, let me brew some tea. I need a break too," Hanji volunteered while stretching her arms. She started boiling the water and cleared a table that is mostly occupied by flasks and beakers. Everything was fine until she accidentally tipped over a flask containing chemicals.

"Crap! I needed those for later!" she cursed and crouched to collect the broken glassware.

"Stop it, Hanji. Leave the mess to me. You're going to hurt yourself," Levi immediately stood up and walked next to her. He's got a broom and dustpan with him to clean up the broken flask. He was right, she did hurt herself on accident. When she looked at her palm, blood was oozing from being cut by the sharp edges of the glass. This didn't escape Levi as he took care of the glass debris and grabbed Hanji's arm, leaving the broom and dustpan on the floor. 

"Tch. What's wrong with you today? You have to snap out of it before the next expedition or you'll be titan food while daydreaming!" snarled Levi who was helping her clean her wounded palm. Levi doesn't understand why he was so irritated at how clumsy and careless sometimes Hanji can be but somehow he felt that he needed to remind her every now and then. He meticulously made sure no broken glass was stuck on the open flesh while Hanji remained silent for a moment. She felt a tingling sensation run down her spine when Levi held her hand. Or maybe, it was because of the open wound. 

"Yeah, sorry for the trouble. I can bandage it myself," Hanji apologized sheepishly and gently took the roll of bandage from Levi who snapped out of his grumpiness and didn't object to Hanji's request. Instead, he shifted his attention on cleaning up the broken glassware on the floor and in preparing the tea as the water has started to boil.

By the time Hanji finished dressing her wound, Levi had already prepared the tea and placed two cups in front of them. Hanji muttered a thanks before taking a sip. Levi nodded and sipped his own tea. Hanji sighs and lightly slaps her cheeks as if to shake herself awake.

"You're right. I really should snap out of it. I don't know why my stupid childhood memories are distracting me. I hate those memories anyway," said Hanji, her voice back to the cheerful and boisterous usual tone that everyone knows and are used to.

"We all have memories that will forever haunt us," Levi agreed with her statement since he, too, hated his childhood memories in the underground city. So for the rest of the night, he voluntarily helped Hanji in finishing her reports due tomorrow. 

* * *

It's been two months since Hanji has wounded her palm and she's on her way back to the Survey Corps headquarters after buying a few supplies that she needs since her squad is busy with the tasks she assigned them. Even Levi asked her to buy some new bleach since his cleaning supplies are running out. 

Hanji was silently humming while trudging on her way back when an old woman called her attention.

"Young lady, come here!" the old woman smiled and motioned. Hanji looked at her surroundings to check if she was the one being called. When she's sure the old woman was pertaining to her, she approached cautiously. Getting robbed is the last thing she wants to happen to her.

"You seem like a jolly person. Would you like me to read your future?" the old lady asked. Hanji has never believed in fortune-telling but she figured there's no harm in listening to it. She chuckled and held out her left palm since her right hand was firmly holding the grocery bags. The fortune-teller gently took her hand and read the lines on her palm. 

"You have a pretty palm," the old lady commented. Hanji was taken aback by this comment out but figured that it's the usual comments of fortune tellers. 

"Sadly I've got a long ugly scar on it," Hanji chuckled, pointing out the long scar protruding from her ring finger to her wrist using her left thumb. The fortune teller looks at her in confusion but proceeds to read her future in the next second.

"You're going to have lots of hardships along the way while achieving a lot that no one would have figured out. You'll question your credibility despite all of the incredible deeds you'll do and you'll redeem yourself before you even know it," said the fortune teller before closing Hanji's palm into a fist. 

"Oh. Is that so. Well I should get going," Hanji retracted her hand and paid the fortune-teller. The reading was too vague and she figured the old lady saw her returning from an expedition so it makes sense. She stopped on her tracks when the fortune-teller spoke again. 

"And I never saw any scar, my dear. Search for someone who can see them aside from you. Whoever that person is, is bound to you eternally," Hanji's eyes widened upon hearing that. She looks at her left palm again and can clearly see the scar. Still taken aback by this, she waved her hand at the old lady and went on her way.

* * *

It's been years and Hanji had already forgotten about what the fortune teller had told her. She never bothered to ask who and who cannot see her scar since her mind is preoccupied by more important urgent things and so many have events escalated quickly. She is now the current Commander of the Survey Corps after Erwin but it's not something she's proud of. She felt powerless and disappointed in herself. She found herself crying while shooting their pursuers who were once their comrades. 

After wiping her tears, she got up, collected some dried twigs and ran back to an unconscious and injured Levi whom she hid in a secluded area of the forest. 

"I have to be strong now more than ever. Levi is severely injured and I need to take care of him," Hanji thought and encouraged herself when she noticed her hands were shaking after thinking that the Yeagerists might catch and kill them. She prepared a fire, cooked stew for them and fed Levi once he regained consciousness. 

Once they were done with dinner, Hanji cleaned Levi's wounds again. She removed the bandages wrapped on his face and torso. Levi didn't meet her eyes. She can tell that he's angry and disappointed at himself for letting Zeke escape again. 

Hanji was applying the disinfectant on his wounds when she noticed an almost faded scar on his chest. It goes from the center of his chest to his left shoulder, just above his arm. Absentmindedly, Hanji lightly touched the scar. Feeling her fingertips, Levi slowly opened his eyes and looked at her. 

"What is it Hanji?"

"Ah sorry! Could it be that one of your scars heal quickly?" Hanji asked, feeling embarrassed with what she just did and feeling stupid with her question. 

"There's no way someone can heal that quickly. Could it be because he's an Ackerman and it's one of their superhuman traits? Still there's no way," Hanji debated with her thoughts until Levi spoke. 

"It's not from the explosion. It's back when I was still underground...with Farlan and Isabel," Levi struggled to speak. His voice was shaky and more silent.

"I see. Farlan and Isabel must have been in serious trouble to have you end up with that scar," Hanji commented as she remembered their faces. She never got the chance to become close friends with them after they didn't return on that expedition. Hanji resumed applying the disinfectant on his stitches. Hanji can tell that it stings so bad so she has to distract him by holding a conversation. His expression was pained but he fought with every ounce of strength left in him to endure it. 

"I'm surprised you saw that scar. No one but you has ever noticed it, so I thought it wasn't even there to begin with. But...I remember that injury. It was during one of the last missions Farlan, Isabel and I had before we got recruited to join the Suvey Corps," Levi commented as he gazed at the fire that Hanji prepared earlier while she finished wrapping the bandages on his torso. Before laying back down, he weakly grabbed the bespectacled woman's left wrist and looked at her palm. 

"It almost looks as non-existent as this scar of yours," he mentioned before gently letting go of her wrist. Hanji's eyes widened momentarily upon the realization. 

"You can see this?" she asked in disbelief. She, too, had thought the scar was just her imagination. Levi nodded and looked at her unusually flushed face. Perhaps the light from the fire is playing tricks on him but he swears Hanji is blushing. 

"Why wouldn't I?" 

Flashbacks of her mother and the fortune-teller's words entered her mind. 

_"They say two people are soulmates and they are connected by a visibile red string of fate that only them can see and it can never be broken no matter what happens."_

_"...Search for someone who can see them aside from you. Whoever that person is, is bound to you eternally."_

Hanji almost gasped with the realization that the person on the other end of her string has been beside her this whole time. Her expression didn't escape Levi's tired eyes as he gazed at her, his voice was filled with concern. 

"What's wrong?" 

Hanji who was teary eyed at this point, smiled and shook her head. It's probably the first time she smiled genuinely since they fled from their pursuers. 

"It's nothing. I'll tell you all about it once you get better. For now, get some rest, Levi. Don't worry I'll keep watch," Hanji said softly as she wraps him in a blanket before she gazes at the night sky, hoping for a better future for the both of them. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed reading it. Let me know if there were grammatical errors.


End file.
